Your guide to green parenting, eco baby & green kids

Boikido Eco-Friendly Wooden Cube Snail Puzzle

Boikido’s brightly colored wooden toys are always a favorite of ours. From their latest line of introductions, this smiling snail puzzle offers different types of play for different ages. First, it provides stacking fun for 18-month-olds and later, older toddlers can match the cubes to create different scenes on the snail’s back. The puzzle is made from FSC-certified wood and finished with water-based paint. Even the packaging is green — a recycled box printed with soy-based inks.

+ Eco-Friendly Wooden Cube Snail Puzzle $24.99

+ Boikido

Junk Food More Than Doubles the Risk of ADHD in Kids, Says New Study

by Jasmin Malik Chua, 07/30/10

Photo by anaulin

Take that candy away from that baby—or that child or teenager, for that matter. Junk food, including sweets, highly processed snacks, and fried and takeaway grub, could be causing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents, according to a new study by Australia’s Telethon Institute for Child Health and Research. Researchers, who examined the diets of 1,800 teens, found that “western-style” diets more than doubled the risk of an ADHD diagnosis, compared with a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, even after adjusting for social and family factors.

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Link Love: Eames Hack High Chair and a Cereal Box Marble Run

by Julie Knapp, 07/30/10

We’re big fans of the Eames Rocker so we were intrigued by Babble’s post on an Eames hack high chair concept shown above.

Need a rainy day project? Try making a cereal box marble run with the help of Made by Joel.

Craftzine takes the concept of hand-me-downs to a new level with their DIY tip for turning men’s jeans into toddler jeans.

Lil Sugar shares five eco-friendly ways to stock up on new toys and clothes including the new social networking swap thredUP.

Kiwi magazine introduces us to new recycled craft book Make These Toys.

Deserved Deliveries: A New Kind of Birthing Clinic for NYC

by Yuka Yoneda, 07/30/10

New York City is considered one of the most forward-thinking cities in the world – so you would think that it would be at the forefront of innovation when it comes to childbirth. But did you know that the Big Apple actually ranks as the worst city in the U.S. in terms of maternal-related mortality? In order to address this very concerning issue and the fact that there is is a serious dearth of mother/child-friendly birthing centers in NYC, designer Kristi Bernick designed a Brooklyn facility for natural childbirth called Deserved Deliveries. This design project explores innovative methods of maternal care that place emphasis on combining midwifery and obstetrics into one cohesive and comfortable environment – an idea that could help turn New York’s abysmal track record around.

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Organic Crochet Sun Hat to Shade Your Baby

by Julie Knapp, 07/29/10

Protecting your tot’s face from the sun is super important, especially in those first six months when you can’t apply sunscreen. You’ll find lots of eco-friendly sun hats to choose from, but this organic crochet sun hat from Etsy designer Tayuh Tate has that sweet made-by-Grandma quality. Even better, each handmade hat comes with four interchangeable button-on flowers so you can swap out the different colors to make it match every baby dress — all without having to buy a stack of hats that she’ll outgrow by next year. Custom colors are also available.

+ Organic Cotton Sun Hat $25

+ Tayuh Tate on Etsy

Kids’ Toxic Chemical Exposure Costs Michigan Billions

by Julie Knapp, 07/29/10

We know that all of the toxins and pollutants we — and our families — are exposed to every day can have high costs when it comes to our health. Now the Michigan Network for Children’s Environmental Health is examining the financial costs of children’s toxic chemical exposure. Their just-released report examines the environmentally attributable direct and indirect health care costs of four childhood diseases linked to environmental toxins — asthma, lead poisoning, pediatric cancer and neurodevelopmental disorders. The treatment for these health issues costs Michigan an average of $5.85 billion a year! Just think how much money one state could save by protecting children from environmental toxins, and thus helping to reduce the number of children affected by these preventable diseases.

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NEW! Dr. Seuss Eco-Plush Collection by miYim

by Jasmin Malik Chua, 07/28/10

Oh, the places you’ll go with miYim’s brand-new Dr. Seuss Eco-Plush Collection. The whole gang’s here: the Cat in the Hat, Horton, and the Lorax, all sprung from the good doctor’s beloved children’s books. Beautifully rendered in untreated, unbleached cotton and chemical-free dyes, the certified-nontoxic range includes rattles, teething blankets, and plush toys. All that’s missing is a side of green eggs and ham.

+ Dr. Seuss Eco-Plush Collection (Available on Amazon)

+ miYim

Prenatal Air Pollution Exposure Can Lower Kids’ IQs by 4 Points

by Julie Knapp, 07/28/10

Lung cancer, heart disease, nausea, headaches, allergic reactions and chronic respiratory disease are just some of the adverse effects of air pollution. Now you can add less intelligent kids to the list. Two separate scientific studies, one conducted in New York City and the other in Poland, found that 5-year-olds exposed to above-average levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the womb score lower on IQ tests. The difference is about the same as the well-documented IQ drop caused by low-level lead exposure.
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NEW! Organic Cotton Clothing Collection from Cate & Levi

by Julie Knapp, 07/27/10

Josh Title, the eco-conscious dad behind Cate & Levi is at it again, handcrafting adorable stuff for kids using old sweaters. We’ve raved about the Canadian company’s puppets, stackable Zoo Cubes and wall art in the past, and now Cate & Levi has introduced a new 100% organic cotton clothing collection for babies and toddlers. The bodysuits, tees and a hat all feature Cate & Levi’s familiar animal designs, made from reclaimed wool of course, this time in applique form.

+ 100% Organic Cotton Clothing $16-$32

+ Cate & Levi

5 Eco-Friendly Rockers & Gliders for Baby’s Nursery

by Beth Shea, 07/27/10

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‘Colorem’ Chalkboard Cubes from Naef

by Beth Shea, 07/26/10

Swiss toymaker Naef continues to impress us with their growing collection of artfully crafted novelties for kids. The Colorem now joins the ranks of Naef wares we’ve previously raved about here on Inhabitots: the Juba Wooden Caterpillar Toy, Fluctus Building Cones, and Agon Blocks. The new cubes on the block, Colorem puts an end to the paper trail by enabling kids to create colorful art on maple wood cubes that have been varnished with blackboard paint. A simple wipe with a wet sponge, and the blocks become a blank canvas of expression time and again. Colorem comes in 25 or 12 piece variations and is equipped with five water-soluble chalk crayons and a sponge. Kids can design their own puzzles, memory games and drawings on the blocks, which may also be used as traditional stacking blocks to build towering works of art.

+ Colorem $60.14 for 12 piece set $99.44 for 25 piece set

+ Naef

Top 6 Designs That Harness the Power of Play

by Bridgette Meinhold, 07/26/10

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Swedish-Inspired V:King Lawn Game Offers Outdoor Family Fun

by Jasmin Malik Chua, 07/25/10

Your kids aren’t the only ones who need to get outside and play. For an activity the whole family can enjoy, check out V:King, an old-fashioned game that you can play on the lawn, beach, park, or anywhere with a flat space. Inspired by an ancient Swedish pastime of “shields” and “axes,” V:King is a test of skill, strategy, and luck. Just be prepared for plenty of bluster and gloating—on the part of the children and the grownups.

+ V:King

Hand-Carved Wooden Toy Boats by FriendlyFairies

by Jasmin Malik Chua, 07/24/10

Rub-a-dub-dub, what’s floating in your tub? Perhaps one of FriendlyFairies’ handmade wooden boats, which are sea-worthy enough to weather the high seas of your bathwater. Carved in Oregon from solid wood, then wood-burned to create the effect of planks and nails, each one-of-a-kind clipper is hand-embellished with nontoxic paint and triple-finished with a nontoxic sealant.

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Inhabitots Link Roundup of the Week

by Julie Knapp, 07/23/10

We love Design Mom’s idea of crafting a DIY felt wall globe as shown above.

Ecorazzi tells us that Soleil Moon Frye’s new Little Seed collection, which features budget-friendly organic baby basics, is now at Target until Oct 16.

We recently shared news about a possible new urine test for autism, now ParentDish shares news that voice recordings could also help aid early detection.

Project Nursery finds papier mache animal busts for your baby’s room. They’re made by Haitians to honor their African heritage using layers of repurposed cement bags and vintage French book pages.

Ohdeedoh explains how to transform old t-shirts into custom party capes — the results are amazing!